UMW Closed for Winter Break through Jan. 5
The University of Mary Washington, including all administrative offices and departments, will be closed for Winter Break through Sunday, Jan. 5. University offices will reopen on Monday, Jan. 6.
For information on overnight parking during the break, visit http://umweagleeye.wpengine.com/2013/12/10/winter-break-parking-message-2/.
Classes for the spring semester will begin on Monday, Jan. 13. The full academic calendar for the semester is available at http://academics.umw.edu/calendar/spring-2014/.
Bradley Riester’s 3-pointer with 6.6 Seconds Left Downs St. Mary’s (NCAA)
Cutting Loose a No-No at Office Parties (The Free Lance-Star)
Gibson: Find a Fairer Process for Redistricting (The Richmond Times Dispatch)
Virginia, Md. Colleges Make ‘Best Value’ List (WTOP)
Great Lives Lecture Series Kicks Off in January
The University of Mary Washington will present its 2014 Chappell Lecture Series, Great Lives, beginning in January and running through April. The popular series, now in its 11th year, examines the lives of historical figures told through lectures by nationally prominent biographers and authors. The talks will be held at 7:30 p.m. on selected Tuesdays and Thursdays in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium and are open to the public free of charge.
The series will begin on Thursday, Jan. 16, with a lecture on John Wilkes Booth by bestselling author David O. Stewart, and will continue with lectures on a wide range of major historical figures from Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry VIII to Jim Henson and Bob Dylan. Lectures also will represent the fields of art, entertainment, literature and sports, including the Hatfields and McCoys, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Shakespeare and Jim Thorpe.
For the final 2014 lecture, Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of aviator-authors Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, will take a candid look at her legendary family, including the impact of her brother’s kidnapping and death, and her parents’ long and complicated marriage.
The programs include Q&A sessions with the audience and book signings by the author or speaker. Books will be available for purchase on site.
For more information or for a complete listing of lectures, contact the Office of Events and Conferencing at (540) 654-1065 or visit http://www.umw.edu/greatlives/.
Davis Presents, Publishes Article
Janine S. Davis, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, presented her research paper “The Long and Short of It: Preservice Teacher Pecha Kucha and Memoir” at the National Council of Teachers of English annual conference in Boston on Nov. 22. She also served as a social media correspondent for the conference on Twitter.
Davis’s article “Building Resilient Students: Three Strategies for Success” draws on this work with memoir and prior work on persona in teaching and appears in the December issue of Educational Horizons Magazine.
Kiplinger’s Magazine Rates UMW Among Nation’s Best Values
The University of Mary Washington is listed among Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2014.
The university ranks fifth among Virginia’s best values and 61st out of 100 four-year public institutions nationwide. The ranking cites four-year schools that combine outstanding education with economic value, according to the February 2014 issue of Kiplinger’s. The list is available online at http://www.kiplinger.com/links/college.
“The college landscape today is very different – tuition increases and student debt dominate the national conversation surrounding higher education,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “This year’s top 100 schools have made admirable strides to maintain academic integrity and standards while meeting the financial needs of their students.”
Kiplinger’s assesses quality according to a number of measurable standards, including the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio and the four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include low sticker prices, abundant financial aid and low average debt at graduation.
Other Virginia schools on the in-state “best value” list include the University of Virginia (2), the College of William and Mary (4), James Madison University (22), Virginia Tech (27), George Mason University (72) and Christopher Newport University (84).
UMW has consistently appeared on the list since 2006, and continuously ranks high in selective college guidebooks.
UMW Philharmonic Director Elected National VP of Orchestra Association
Kevin Bartram, director of the University of Mary Washington Philharmonic Orchestra, has been voted national vice president of the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA). CODA is the world’s largest association for college orchestra directors, with more than 200 colleges and universities from the U.S., Canada, Europe and South and Central America.
Bartram will take office in January 2014 at the group’s national conference in Ft. Worth, Texas. He will serve as vice president for one year, and then ascend to president-elect, and finally to president in 2016. As part of his duties, he will be responsible for organizing the group’s national conference.
In his current role as national development chair, Bartram has helped CODA launch its new website and partner with its first major sponsors.
“I know that CODA will be in very good hands, and that our organization will have an even greater profile and relevancy in the world of college and university orchestras,” said Daniel Sommerville, current national president of CODA.
Bartram has led the UMW Philharmonic since 2002 and is responsible for elevating the level of the group through the creation of the William M. Anderson, Jr. Celebrity Series, its touring program, and its July 4th concerts. Each year, more than 17,000 people hear the group perform. This March, the orchestra will perform with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman.
For more information about the UMW Philharmonic concert season and the Friends of the Philharmonic, visit philharmonic.umw.edu or follow the orchestra on Facebook and Twitter.